After the success of last year's charming The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the creative team at Theatre Royal BSE has taken us back to the Land of Oz, and delivered another fine piece of fun, family entertainment.
Written by playwright Mike Akers, and funded by the Theatre's innovative Commissioning Circle, this in-house production features a blend of professional actors and a company of young people from the local community.
It draws upon elements of the second and third of the L Frank Baum novels of the Oz saga, featuring plot points which many may recognise from Disney's fairly dark Return to Oz movie. However, this unique and original take on the story sees us stay in very family-friendly territory, with the show being scattered with a handful of song and dance numbers, and a number of funny and very silly moments.
These include a nervous chicken who fires out eggs in moments of tension, Bamber the talking deer head, and a headless Princess wandering about!
Anya de Villiers was brilliant in the title role of Dorothy. Though she starts out as a rather sulky figure, the plight of her situation forces her to transform into a stronger, fiercely determined character. Anya carried the role off with ease, being extremely likeable throughout, and also showing off a beautiful singing voice too.
Alongside Dorothy was Billina the chicken, played with great vigour and humour by Safia Bartley. The role of Billina initially looked to be that of a narrator, but when the storm hits Stowmarket and Dorothy clings to Billina's chicken shack for safety, the pair of them wash up in the Emerald City and soon become friends. And the story was all the better for it as Safia had such an infectious energy about her, and helped to lift the show.
They were joined by the familiar characters of Tinman (known as Tik Tok), Scarecrow, and Lioness. Nathaniel Purnell was a dancing sensation as Tik Tok, while young company members Francis Winsbury-Cutts and Elizabeth Kennell-Webb were so confident and comfortable on stage as Scarecrow and Lioness that I genuinely had no idea (until I read the programme!) that they were part of the community cast.
Completing the main cast was Leonie Spilsbury as a hilariously bonkers Princess Langwidere (she also doubles as Dorothy's mum) and Michael Lambourne as the dastardly Gnome King (he also plays mum's boyfriend, Bradley). Both were as accomplished as you'd expect from pros, but Michael's rich tones, both in singing and speaking voice, and overall stage presence added a touch of class to proceedings.
In supporting roles throughout were the young company as munchkins, and their energetic and enthusiastic presence, coupled with their excellent dancing skills, absolutely lit up the stage.
On the creative side, co-directors Owen Calvert-Lyons and David Whitney have done a fine job of extracting every ounce of humour from the script, and with the aid of choreographer Nicola Mac, have created a well-drilled, tight unit.
The final mention has to go to the wonderful stage and costume design from Morgan Brind. The staging was deceptively simple, being built around a few larger, interactive set pieces, and all impactfully captured inside two enormous and wonky picture frames. The costumes were also spot on, blending the cool, contemporary dress of Dorothy with the more traditional and flamboyant costumes of the characters from the Land of Oz.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable watch and another triumph for the theatre's Commissioning Circle initiative. Continuing all throughout the remainder of the summer holidays, it's a perfect feel-good show to entertain young people. Dorothy, Back in Oz continues at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds until 31 Aug.
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